Sandhill Crane migration expected to peak this week

WOOD RIVER, Neb. - The Sandhill Crane migration is close to reaching its peak.

The Crane Trust says it estimated around 458,000 Sandhill Cranes within within the Central Platte River Valley between Chapman and Overton last week. That number is double what the organization counted the previous week.

The Crane Trust says the western stretch of the river saw a 370% increase from the previous week, while the numbers between Chapman and Wood River are starting to plateau. Experts predict that next week will be the peak for the migration as a whole. Just because it will be peaking, doesn't mean the cranes will vanish. Large numbers will stay into the first weeks of April.